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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bass — low music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. press — a publisher
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. tube — a container
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. drill — army training
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. tube — the underground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com